Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with globalwarming

Where to find a chart breaking out components of possible CO2 reduction?

teracloth — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:41:54 -0800

How big a part of the global warming solution might come from land-use changes, how much from no-till farming and so forth? I know I've seen charts like this several times in the past, but now I somehow can't turn one up.

So we're trying to cut greenhouse emissions 30 percent by 2030 or whatever. How much of that cut can we reasonably expect to come from transporting less stuff, how much from greener building, etc.?

Ideally I'd like to find a graphical illustration, but words would do. I'm hoping to convince someone of the diversity and difficulty of tactics that it'll take to save the world.

NASCAR and Earth

yoga — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:50:53 -0800

Why are "NASCAR", "peak oil", "global warming" and "gas prices" never mentioned in the same sentence? Are there statistics on how much gas / oil / petroleum products that are used for a typical race? What about practice races?

Climate scientists as political activists?

pica — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:19:45 -0800

How are the role of scientists and the relationship between them and society changing as the climate questions has become (and will continue to become) more and more acute? For example, I suppose that there for many climate scientist could be a tension between on the one hand scientific standards of never saying anything that’s not entirely certain and ‘keeping out of politics’, and on the other hand the need to create a quick change of public policies. Where do I find anything especially clever written on this? And how is the moral/political responsibilities of scientists changing in general in the light of climate change? I’m particularly interested in what scientists and scientific institutions themselves actually think and do here and how this has been received by politicians, activists and the public.

Lot’s of questions in this question, I see that. It’s part of the early creative process of writing an application for a research project. That means, if you have any ideas about questions in the neighbouring areas that you find being of particular interest from both a political science perspective and a save-the-world-perspective, they’re also very welcome!

Which scientific journals to search for global warming naysayers?

damnthesehumanhands — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:59:52 -0800

I'm researching scientists who dispute / are skeptics of man-made climate change (a la the UN IPCC's findings.) Which peer reviewed, scholarly science journals should I be searching through?

Best Global Warming Real Estate?

53B3L1U5 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:07:20 -0800

In the inevitability of global warming (bias disclosed) where should I move to? I'm a 20-something getting close to that home-owner stage, but from some of the stuff I'm reading a lot of great places to live won't be great much longer! With the drying of the west, the sunbelt is looking less enticing. I live near the ocean now, but it seems the dream of staying nearby is fading. [Blast from the past] I figure to be alive into the last half of this century. With the world getting warmer where are the cool places gonna be in 50 years?

If you believe in climate change, is it wrong to drive or fly?

MetaMonkey — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:47:10 -0800

If you believe climate change is real, bad, and man-made: does that mean it's wrong to take a flight or drive a car? Are there any reasonable excuses?

Unilateral Presidential power for low-carbon initiatives?

dondiego87 — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:40:23 -0800

A question about Presidential power -- specifically, for the implementation of carbon reduction initiatives including a cap-and-trade system. Yesterday, I watched the Presidential Forum on Global Warming and America's Energy Future. Sens. Clinton and Edwards both said that they would create a cap-and-trade system to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, among with many other measures regarding America's energy use.

However, what I didn't hear for most of the measures (including the trading schemes) was an explanation of how the candidate, as President, would implement his or her ideas. So I ask you, hive mind. How would this work? Suggesting legislation for Congress to consider seems like a pretty weak tack. Are the candidates planning to implement their plans unilaterally through Executive Order?

(A little history: A cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide was established during the first Bush administration, with the White House pushing amendments to the Clean Air Act and Congress adopting those amendments. The mores of the legislature may be different now with regards to carbon dioxide than they were then for sulfur dioxide.)

Please, only productive replies. Thanks!

Fountain pens and climate change, two great tastes that go well together

b1tr0t — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:28:02 -0800

Why is Mont Blanc's height so stable? The pen company has been marking 4810 on their nibs since at least the 1930s. Just this year, it measured 4810m tall.

Climate Change Step-By-Step

textilephile — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:42:42 -0800

Does anyone know of a good online resource that explains in detail the exact series of events that is predicted to occur as a result of climate change if it continues on its current path? I am looking for step by step descriptions of what is likely to happen geologically, biologically, and socially, described in lay terms, from well regarded sources. It should be in depth, but not highly technical. Video, text, and graphics are all fine.

I am not looking for appeals to save the earth, or descriptions of what people shoud do to save the earth. I am looking for descriptions of what is likely to happen if we do not.

I realize that all predictions will include a significant amount of speculation, and that they will vary from one another.

Which is best for the environment: driving or flying?

JPDD — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:56:27 -0800

Is it better for the environment to drive or fly a long distance? I'm currently in Baton Rouge, LA and plan on returning to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for a couple of weeks over Christmas and I'm wondering if driving or flying would be better in terms of global warming and other environmental impacts. If I fly I would use a commercial carrier and it would involve at least two hops as there are no direct flights. If I drive I would use our 2001 automatic transmission Toyota Corolla and spend a night or two in a motel. I would be the only person in the car.

I was under the impression that driving was something like 30x better in part because flying deposits pollutants directly into the atmosphere but I just heard something on the NPR Environment podcast cites thegreenguide.com as saying driving is 2x worse than flying. I couldn't find anything on their site to that effect however.

So which is best? Flying or driving? I realize that the train is probably best and I may end up doing that.

Best online teleconferencing options?

niloticus — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:44:42 -0800

Help save my friend and the atmosphere from unwanted air travel! He works at home, for a company in another state; they fly him in several times a month for meetings. How can he persuade them that he doesn't need to go, that there's a teleconferencing app that'll work just as well? He's a hardware design engineer, and his airline "commute" is costing the company many thousands a year.

Do reasonable global warming arguments exist?

donmak — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:44:21 -0800

Do reasonable arguments for or against global warming actually exist for regular people like me to read? Or must I be stuck with the annoying rhetoric of both sides? Critics of global warming claim it is faux-science, yet I never see them give evidence of this claim.

Proponents of global warming say "look at the science" and the evidence pretty much speaks for itself.

My question: Where is the science? What is a good resource to look at this data. Most of the mainstream news and conservative news just spouts snippits and rhetoric. Where can I find some good information on the "science" behind the current global warming warnings. I've watched "An Inconvenient Truth" but I shudder when I hear Al Gore strongly suggest we'll either be underwater or dead in ten years (now down to 8 years).

Also, for that matter, is there a resource that attempts to rebut the science reasonably? Preferably without that maliciousness and sarcasm of Fox News or Rush Limbaugh?

Help make my wedding green!

changeling — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:31:31 -0800

How do I make my destination wedding enviro-friendly? We really want to have a destination wedding this March. It was recently brought to my attention that destination weddings leave turbo jet-sized carbon footprints.

Never thought of that. Now it's really bothering me. Besides having our guests donate to carbon offset projects in lieu of gifts, what are some other creative ways we can help lessen the impact of maybe twenty people flying from LAX to Central America? Please don't say "just have a wedding at home." I generally try to maintain an eco-friendly existence, but this is the event of my life.

Also, please no more commentary about the friendship ethics of a destination wedding -- we're having a reception back home for everyone that can't make it, and we love them just the same. No pressure, no guilt. Sheesh.

How many nukes would we need to replace oil, coal, natural gas

DarkForest — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:13:32 -0800

Lets just say that the U.S. decided to stop burning hydrocarbons (oil, coal, natural gas) completely for environmental reasons. Lets say that everything went electric. Cars, Power Plants, factories, everything. How many nuclear plants (using current technology) would we need to produce? Would there be one in every moderate sized town? Also, how long would the raw materials last before another energy crisis was imminent (peak uranium, I guess)?

Point me to a map of the effects of global warming

greggish — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:57:41 -0800

I'm looking for a dynamic map (of the USA, or of the world) that will graphically display various trends relating to climate change and the effects of global warming in the next century. So, if I want to see the projections of sea level rise over the next century, I can call that data up on the map; same for agricultural production patterns, extreme weather forecast, etc. Perhaps this map could be manipulated to show separate displays for the best, most likely, and worst case scenarios.

Does such a map exist on the interweb, or is it just an awesome idea that someone should totally get to work on asap?

Is this actually global warming?

jk252b — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 08:58:09 -0800

It's December 14th and 56 degrees here in Boston. Everyone is walking around saying, "this is global warming." Is this actually a direct effect of global warming or just part of an abnormal but not potentially life-as-we-know-it ending weather pattern?

GlobalWarmingSpeculationFilter

Alterscape — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:55:16 -0800

Where can I learn about the possible consequences of future global warming, sea-level-rise, etc on the climate of the continental US? Research for that sci-fi story I'm playing with. What would likely happen to the climate of the US if one of the worse-case scenarios in terms of climate change were to occur? I'm particularly interested in the southwestern US, and Appalachia, for now, but if anyone out there has generated maps or other reports dealing with the whole country (world?) that would be nice to know about too. I know climate prediction is an inexact science at best, but I'm looking for articles (layperson or scholarly) and other resources that I can use to inform my thinking and make interesting hypothetical predictions that are at least somewhat within the realm of possibility.

Which climate change organization should I donate to?

walla — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:49:43 -0800

We would like to contribute to an organization that is dedicated to alleviating global warming. Ideally a nonprofit but any organization that takes action in this direction would be fine. I'd prefer that it be something I could research online or find a rating such as those available on charitynavigator.com. Any ideas? Thank you!

A delicate Yorkshire Riesling, robust Canadian Cabernet?

grahamwell — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:45:26 -0800

A delicate Yorkshire Riesling, robust Canadian Cabernet? If global warming raises temperatures, an often mentioned consequence is the growing of wine grapes in the far North (for example the article in Slate today). Does this really follow? My scepticism is based on a belief which may be wrong. The belief is that wine grapes do not flourish above 50 degrees North because the Ultra Violet rays of the sun are too weak, too diluted by the atmosphere at this latitude, to fire off the complex chemical reaction that produces sugars in the vine. A simple rise in temperature will not make any difference to this problem which would only be solved if the sun were to become brighter (which it will not).

Further a blanket of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which will cause the rise in Infra-Red and thus ground temperature, will slightly decrease the energy of the Ultra Violet radiation from the Sun.

What's the truth?

[It is possible that a rise in ground temperature might cause more sunny days - and this would certainly help the prospective wine growers of Yorkshire, but equally it might do the opposite. Details of future climate, rainfall, sunshine and cloud cover in a specific place are way beyond the abilities of our computer models.]

He told me in heaven that every everything is fine

fandango_matt — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 22:13:42 -0800

Let's assume (no soapbox rants, please!) global warming is a reality, the ice covering Greenland is melting, and the ocean's levels are rising. If I own a home and land which, according to this map, would be underwater, what--if anything--would the government do? I live near a major (federal) interstate, two major shipping ports, and a rail corridor linking the two. San Francisco and Oakland International Airports would also be underwater. What happens? Would they build a gigantic dike, like New Orleans and Holland? Is my home and the land on which it's built a total loss? If so, insurance-wise, is this considered an "Act of God"? If I was to put my home on the market tomorrow, must I declare global warming and the rising ocean levels as a possibility for flooding?

Books skeptical about global warming's effect

dbarefoot — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:28:27 -0800

What are some reasonable, readable books which are skeptical about the dire threat of global warning? I recently saw An Inconvenient Truth, and felt that Mr. Gore made a pretty solid case. That said, I'd like to read the opposite opinion in a book that a layman can understand. I'm aware of Crichton's State of Fear, but I gather that's been largely debunked. Any suggestions?

Flood the (Google) Earth!

jefgodesky — Mon, 08 May 2006 14:01:57 -0800

I want to flood the Earth! Well, Google Earth--I'd really like to be able to take Google Earth, and raise the sea levels to reflect what the earth would look like if the polar ice were to melt as drastically as many ecologists fear. I saw the Google maps hack, but I'm hoping for (a) something that looks a little nicer, and (b) something for Google Earth, so that I can manipulate it more freely.

Has this already been done? Is it possible? If I have to do it myself, what would be involved?

Is living in NYC environmentally superior to the suburbs?

logovisual — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 11:41:37 -0800

Is living in New York City more environmentally sensitive than living in the suburbs? I've always been curious about the relative energy- and waste-efficiency of living in a major city like New York as opposed to the suburbs I grew up in. Comparing my hometown on the coast of Florida as a "suburb" (urban sprawl, single-family homes, travel exclusively by car, extreme climate control, etc.), and my current residency in Brooklyn (travel exclusively by mass transit, vastly more complicated energy/waste/resource infrastructure, etc.), which is having a more detrimental effect on the planet's health? Can a comparison be made? I'm sure a similar question has been asked before, but it was difficult to coax out of a search with keywords... my instinct is that the suburbs are more detrimental, but I might be very naive about what it takes to keep a city like New York running.

Et si l'hiver ne venait plus?

jrb223 — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:29:34 -0800

How can I hear this radio show that won a Peabody yesterday? So reading about South Park's successes at the Peabody Awards yesterday, I came across this description of a Canadian documentary that also won an award:

Year:
2005

Title:
What If Winter Never Comes? (Et si l'hiver ne venait plus?)

Producing
Organization(s):
CBC/Radio-Canada
La Premiere Chaine (French Radio Network)
City/State:

"From the frontlines of global warming, the Arctic, this report brought listeners voices of native people, the Inuit, whose way of life is literally melting away. Deftly employed ambient sound enhanced the piece's power."

Any idea where I can find/see a copy? The quickest and easiest way to screen the film is best, I'm directing a play about global warming, and think that this film could really help an actor that has been struggling to find her character. Thanks in advance!

What are the Big Ideas for combating global warming?

Galvatron — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 14:37:01 -0800

What are the Big Ideas for combating global warming? Who is proposing them? Which do you find most plausible? I'll admit it: I've watched some Star Trek in my time. Let me tell you, when there's a planetary crisis brewing, they don't sit around for twenty years debating Kyoto Protocols. They call in the Enterprise, drill down to the planet core with phasers, and reliquify the magma. (Substitute "tractor-beam the asteroid," "initiate a cascade reaction," or "compress the gravitational field" as you see fit.)

If you can accept the idea that we have, in fact reached a tipping point where climate change may accelerate out of control, then we're potentially too late to reverse the effects by meagre (and uncoordinated) efforts at limiting emissions. So what are the Big Ideas for solving the problem? Who is talking seriously about treating the earth as a very large engineering problem?

As just one example, are there proposals for economically feasible ways to temporarily alter the earth's reflectivity? Would such proposals be sufficiently non-disruptive to everyday life that nations could agree on them? What is the probability that such efforts would have the desired effect?

For the purpose of this question, please assume that global warming/climate change is a reality; I'm not interested in holding that debate here. Bonus points for any answers involving lasers.